Tonight is the night Boys!

[DoubleDee]

Ok, they need to go in and bury Brandon tonight. There is no second chance. It will be a tough battle but it is worth it in the end. I refuse to accept defeat and neither should the boys!

GO HITMEN GO

[Mileflames]

This team needs to get going early and get a 2 or 3 point lead. A slow start won’t help the hitmen in this one.

Alot is resting on this very young D,
Jeff Schultz – 1986 He looked very tired game 6, Jeff has been over worked because of the injuries.
Dustin Kohn – 1987
Karl Alzner – 1988
Dylan Yeo – 1986 Yeo is in the same boat as Jeff, he is getting beat wide because he is tired.

These kids are going to have to step-up and play regular shift tonight.
Alex Plante – 1989
Justin Falk - 1989

[Mileflames]

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/Sports/2005/04/20/1004851-sun.html

Gotta Getz going
Hitmen are done unless top line can find a way to produce

Game 7. Just the thought of it gets the adrenalin flowing.

One last hand with both teams going 'all in.'

Every player has dreamt of it since picking up a piece of lumber and heading out to the street in search of glory.

Now, for members of the Calgary Hitmen and Brandon Wheat Kings, the dream has become reality. For one team, it'll become a nightmare.

Whether the Hitmen will spend the rest of their lives looking back at tonight's tilt with fond memories or trying in vain to banish them to their subconscious comes down to one factor: The play of their top line.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/Sports/2005/04/20/1004854-sun.html

Seventh heaven or hell

If the Hitmen are searching for optimism heading into tonight's Game 7, they won't find it in the history books. Calgary is 2-2 when playing for all the marbles. Not bad. But that's where the good news ends. The club's two wins came back in the late '90s.

In 1998, the Hitmen battled back from a 3-1 deficit (sound familiar?) to down Swift Current in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

The following year, Calgary tripped up Kootenay in the opening round and then went on to win the WHL crown.

Both wins came at the 'Dome.

In their last two Game 7s, both on the road, the Hitmen have seen their seasons come to a screeching halt.

The Broncos clipped Calgary in 2002 while the Red Deer Rebels took last year's winner-take-all affair 4-2 at the Centrium

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/Sports/2005/04/20/1004855-sun.html

Eliminator handcuffed

One week ago, Andrew Ladd's playoff stock was soaring sky-high. With four game-winning goals bulging his Calgary Hitmen portfolio, Ladd was playing like a can't-miss blue-chipper.

In his first seven playoff games -- including against Lethbridge in the first round and the first two games against Brandon -- Ladd amassed seven goals and three assists.

It seemed everything he touched turned to goals.

Then came the playoff stock market crash, which started last Tuesday and still appears to be in a tailspin.

Ladd has but one assist in the last four games as his squad heads into Game 7 of the WHL Eastern Conference semifinal tonight in Brandon (6 p.m., The Fan 960, Shaw TV).

[tazndevil]

Couldn't agree more.

The defense is tired.

The forwards need to come out flying and get us a good lead early. If we can get up 2 or 3 goals at the end of the first, the Wheat Queens will fold faster than a Canadian Tire tent.

Best case sceario is the Hitmen come out smoking, win 10-1 again, and send Stone off on a stretcher with a clean shoulder to shoulder open ice hit.

Thoughts?


Taz

[BWK]

My thoughs are, whatever teams come out of this series would be a great representative for the WHL no matter how far they go in the playoffs.

Both are very good teams and have the talent to compete with any team in this country.

Obviously I would like the Wheat Kings to win but, if they didn't, I would cheer for Calgary all the way to London.

Last point is, it is a good thing that the Calgary players aren't as fixated on an incident from 4 games ago as the Calgary fans seem to be. They would have lost the series by now if they were.

[Joe Hallenback]

I too will cheer for Calgary all the way if they beat Brandon. I Kinda like the way they play

[ScottyWazz]

Whoever win this will be a dominate team in the East and probably give the Westies a run for their money.

The keys to this game is this simple:

For Brandon-- stay the course. They have come out firing in their last two games and have played near flawless hockey. They'll be fine if they don't assume any pressure and let the Hitmen make the mistakes for them.

For Calgary-- forget about Games 5 and 6 and move on. This will be a real showing point on what the Hitmen can do and how they take the losses. They can be the best team on the ice or they can be the best team on the ice to get whipped up on. It's their choice. They need to force the mistakes, intimidate Brandon in the early going, and not let up.

[ScottyWazz]

Well-- if there is any indication of how the night is going to go-- Getzlaf getting his shot knocked out of mid-air on an open net will tell you that it may not go the Hitmen's way.

[RunTheGoalie]

I pray that if Pushkarev makes that move one more time that a Wheat King player lays him out for it. I swear his name is Russian for "turnover".

[RunTheGoalie]

I'm kind of glad Brandon scored that third goal, because their second was scored directly via goaltender interference. I would hate to have seen such a goal decide the outcome.

Third goal never should have happened either. Both Kohn and Schultz took the puck carrier, leaving Sindell wide open. Absolutely retarded decision by Schultz to let his man go like that. Ironic that our season may be 6 minutes from ending because of a lack of depth on defense, and becuase of very, very poor play by the D's supposed leader.

I will be extremely disapointed if Kisio is still affiliated with this club next year.

[RunTheGoalie]

I pray to god that the NHL lockout gets resolved so we can get rid of Andrew Ladd.

Getzlaf tried at least, but he still choked. Four glorious scoring chances, and one shot on goal out of it.

Pogge cant' do it all by himself, but for the most part in the last two games, he has been asked to.

[RunTheGoalie]

And the choke is complete.

Clean house Ken.

Kisio has to go. Getzlaf has to go. Ladd has to go.

Blow this damn team up and start all over. :mad:

[ScottyWazz]

Congrats to the Wheaties. They deserved to get win this whole series with their heart and determination.

The Hitmen just didn't have it. They didn't want it as much as the Wheaties did and they should be ashamed of their performance in the past couple of games. They tried to make everything look pretty and make everything look picture perfect and it bit them in the end.

The Wheaties did what they needed to do-- put on their work boots and played simple hockey. That's what got them onto the next round.

[C.F]

And the choke is complete.

Clean house Ken.

Kisio has to go. Getzlaf has to go. Ladd has to go.

Blow this damn team up and start all over. :mad:
Off the bandwaggon? If you're a Flames fan, you're in for a rough NHL season when it returns! :p

Congrats to both teams. Calgary manhandled the Canes, and just fell short of beating Brandon. They have nothing to be ashamed of.

[ScottyWazz]

I don't think it's off the bandwagon. I mean, this is a team that underachieved all season and this just shows how much they underachieved. I mean, when you have a team in a strangle hold like the Hitmen did-- you don't let them get off the mat and take you to the cleaners like the Wheaties did.

I'm sure there will be a whole new face to the Hitmen team next season-- both on and off the ice.

[Joe Hallenback]

Great game and Great Series

Better Luck next year :)

[RunTheGoalie]

Off the bandwaggon? If you're a Flames fan, you're in for a rough NHL season when it returns! :p

Congrats to both teams. Calgary manhandled the Canes, and just fell short of beating Brandon. They have nothing to be ashamed of.

Not at all.

Kisio and Ladd have been the top two reasons why this team underachieved all year long.

The notable thing about the three players I mentioned is that they are all supposedly our leaders. The Wheat Kings had two major advantages on the Hitmen: Desire and leadership, and both have been giant failings of the Hitmen all year long.

We have a lot of good talent, but they are not going to learn how to win under guys like Kisio, Ladd and Getzlaf. This team needs a new direction, and a new focus.